A Visit to Father Eggman
by TangentDream2
Summary: It's Christmas time. Wanting to have some father and son bonding, Sonic takes his son to see Father Christmas. He and Bolt are in for a surprise when Father Christmas looks an awful lot like Sonic's arch nemesis, Doctor Eggman.


Snow had blanketed the ground that cold winter morning. With the heavy snowfall preventing them from leaving the house, Sonic found another way to entertain both himself and his son. "On your marks. Get set... Go!" The blue hedgehogs dashed side by side, around the house, creating high powered gusts of wind in their wake. Various household objects flew up into the air and crashed to the floor from their shenanigans.

"Faster!" Bolt screamed, racing passed his dad down the stairs, he raced across the walls of the living room and spin dashed to the kitchen. "I win! I win!"

"That's the way to do it, little man!" Sonic praised his son. He took out a cookie from Amy's cookie jar and tossed the treat to his son. "You're getting faster with every race! I'm impressed. Keep it up and you'll be taking down that Eggbrain alongside me!" He tossed a cookie into his own mouth and gave Bolt a pat on the back for his effort.

"**Sonic The Hedgehog!" **A female voice shrieked from elsewhere in the house. That particular voice never ceased to make him tense up. Amy was mad at him again.

He looked around the room frantically, looking for a hiding spot. Bolt also looked worried, looking at his dad for a solution. Despite her temper never being aimed at him, he hated to hear her so upset with his dad.

Opening a half empty cupboard, Sonic looked to Bolt. "Hiding spot number one. In you go little dude." Bolt simply giggled at him and jumped into the cupboard. Sonic closed the door behind him and hid himself behind the kitchen door. "Hiding spot number two."

Amy walked into the kitchen, noticing the cookie jar lid on the counter. She rolled her eyes and groaned. Once again, Sonic had Bolt involved in one of his unsafe, minor training, father and son activities and had caused chaos and destruction in the house, rewarding their son for causing a mess. Why was it so difficult for Sonic to understand? Bolt is four years old. He can't be speeding at high speeds and learning how to fight. He was still a child. Her little boy.

She could hear her son giggling from the cupboard. Rolling her eyes, she opened the cupboard door to find Bolt squished against the tinned foods. "Out you come, sweetie." Her son jumped out of the cupboard, leaving a trail of tomato soup dripping from his quills. "Ah, Bolt!" Amy screamed. She turned her son around, examining his quills, assuming he was bleeding.

"What?! Is he okay?!" Sonic jumped out from behind the kitchen door and knelt down next to the young boy. Bolt tried to spin around and look at his quills, causing himself to be dizzy. The smell of tomato came from the child. Sonic held him before sniffing his quills. Definitely tomato soup. He followed the trail to the cupboard. Wow, Bolt's quills had managed to penetrate the can. Impressive. "What do you know? You've become a can opener." Bolt laughed.

Amy sighed in relief. Her anger immediately returning upon focusing on her partner. "Sonic. How many times do you need to be told? Bolt is too young for hero work!"

"But Ames, he's gotten so fast now! He can go from 0 to 60 in 1.5 seconds! If he keeps it up, he'll be going from 0 to like... 360 or something!" He picked up his son and wiped away the reminence of tomato soup off his quills using a kitchen towel.

"That's not the point. He is a child. He can't be doing all these dangerous things with you." Her hand lay on her protruding stomach, a distinct baby bump beneath her dress. "I won't have you influencing this little one too."

Sonic smiled at her bump. His little princess would be arriving in a few weeks from now. As much as he thought Bolt would be a great fighter with his abilities, he knew Amy was right. Besides, in a few more years, Bolt would be more than ready to take the role of hero on. And if his daughter had the same abilities, all three of them would be such a great speed team. "Alright. You win." He turned to his son. "Sorry, pal. Mummy's right. We can't have you racing around the house."

"Or outside."

"Or outside..." Sonic frowned. Bolt whinged, sulking into his father's shoulder.

Amy looked outside the kitchen window to find the snow had settled down. "If you want to bond with Bolt, how about you take him to see Father Christmas?"

"Yeah! I wanna see Father Christmas!" The boy stopped sulking and cheered loudly.

Sonic reluctantly nodded. Nothing about waiting in line for hours just to see a guy in a fake beard sounded fun. Still, if Bolt was eager to go, who was he to take the fun away from the kid? "What about you? Will you be alright on your own?" He asked his wife.

"More than alright. I could use the break. Plus, someone has to clean up all this mess." She pointed to the dripping cupboard of soup.

"Alright, let's go then." He was about to leave with Bolt when Amy held up her hand, stopping him from going. "What?"

"Bolt needs his wooly hat, gloves and scarf. He'll catch a cold without them."

Sonic frowned. "You know, there's a reason why we have fur."

"Just get them." Amy insisted, she crossed her arms over her bump. He groaned, not willing to argue with his pregnant wife. He dashed upstairs to grab Bolt's winter clothes and raced back down again. He dressed him according to Amy's ideal and opened the front door. He was about to take off with his son in arms. "Hold it!"

"What now?" Sonic turned to his wife yet again.

She threw a set of keys to him. Upon further inspection, he looked her cluelessly. "These are keys to your car?"

"It's too dangerous to run out there. You might slip and drop Bolt."

It was nice to know how much she cared about his own safety... "Thanks... I'll walk." He was about to leave when he felt her pulling on his arm. "Hmm?" She kissed him tenderly which he happily returned.

"Yuck..." Bolt looked away.

The couple broke away from their brief affection. With a wink, Sonic dashed off with his son in his arms. "Sonic!"

"Sorry." He called to her. He began to walk again. "Old habit..."

* * *

In the middle of the cities grand shopping centre, Sonic and Bolt waited somewhat patiently in line to see Father Christmas. Bolt was giddy of course. Jumping around ecstatic to meet the man in red. His happiness made Sonic more inclined to be patient. Seeing his little face when he got to meet Father Christmas and get a gift would be priceless.

"Daddy! Daddy! Do you think I can get two presents?" Bolt grabbed his dad's hand and gently tugged to get his attention.

Sonic smiled bashfully. "Sorry little guy. Every kid gets one present. It wouldn't be fair otherwise." He tried to explain the rules to the boy. Bolt nodded, seeming to understand.

"I know. But I want to get one for my sister!"

He was a thoughtful kid. Although knowing Bolt, this could also be a tactic he was using to get more toys. Either way, as his dad, he would have to set the boy straight. "How about we get her something personal from you to her after we meet Father Christmas? How does that sound?"

Bolt smiled and nodded, he held onto Sonic's hand and turned to see the man in the white beard sitting on a chair. "Look dad! There he is!"

Sonic looked over at the man in the beard and squinted his eyes at him. Odd, the man looked awfully familiar. Too familiar. And the elves? Robots decorated in green and red. If he didn't know any better, he'd say Eggman and his robotic servants, Orbot and Cubot were running this christmas grotto. "What are you up to now, Doctor? He mumbled.

"Who's next to meet Father Christmas?" Orbot turned to the queue of people and looked down at Bolt who was next in line.

"Me! Me! I am!" Bolt excitedly sped away from his dad and jumped into the disguised Eggman's lap.

"B-Bolt! Wait up!" Sonic ran up to the chair where Eggman sat. As much as he wanted to intervene, he didn't want to ruin Bolt's experience. As long as Eggman didn't pull any tricks, it was probably best to let Bolt believe this was truly Father Christmas. He watched the man like a hawk. No way he was allow him to hurt his son or destroy his experience.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!" Eggman cheered. His voice was disguised too. Sounding deeper yet more enthusiastic. "What is your name, little one?"

"My name is Bolt."

"That's a great name! Now tell me Bolt, have you been a good boy this year?"

"Yes! I've been very good!" Sonic chuckled slightly. That hadn't been entirely true.

"Good! Because you have been such a good boy, tell Father Christmas what you would like for Christmas."

Bolt tapped his head gently, deciding what he wanted for Christmas. "A sleigh, a hover board and a new remote control race car!" His excitement faded for a moment. "Well... Actually. I really want to daddy to stay with us on Christmas and not fight Doctor Eggman. Doctor Eggman always ruins Christmas."

Sonic looked surprised at his son's request. Last Christmas, he had to leave to stop Eggman destroying the city. By the time he had returned home, Bolt had fallen asleep at the window sill, waiting for him. As much as it hurt to see Bolt waiting there for him, he never knew just how badly it had affected him.

Eggman grumbled beneath his breath. "Alright you little rodent-- I mean little hedgehog. Was there anything else you wanted?"

"I want Doctor Eggman to stay away so daddy can help mummy with my new sister!" Sonic couldn't help but facepalm. He may have not been allowed to teach the boy to fight but he definitely needed to teach him how to not give out such delicate information to the enemy. Now Eggman knew of his latest child, he would have to be even more careful.

Eggman's eyes glistened mischievously. "Ho ho ho! That is something to look forward to. Okay Bolt. Smile for the camera!" Eggman ushered Orbot to take the picture. The camera flashed, releasing a photograph of Father Christmas and Bolt. Orbot placed the picture in Sonic's hand. "Get the gift you imbeciles!" Eggman growled at his robots.

Cubot handed a present to the young boy. "It'll knock you off your feet!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sonic frowned. He became immediately suspicious towards the toy.

Eggman grabbed Cubot's head and shook him. "That's enough from you, you dolt!" The doctor turned to his nemesis and faked a smile. "Oh nothing. Just an ordinary toy. Not anything explosive or anything."

Bolt shook the present gently and smiled at Eggman. "Thank you Father Christmas! But uh..." He looked over at his dad before asking the question. "Can I have a present for my sister? Mummy says I'll see her very soon and I want to get her a present from Father Christmas!"

"Bolt, I told you we--" Sonic paused when he saw Eggman usher for his robot to hand another present to the kid. Sonic looked at the sign next to him. He read the specific rule of one present per child. He groaned. Why was he changing up the rules for Bolt? "Alright. Come along Bolt..." Bolt ran back to his dad, holding the two presents in arms.

"I got two presents! One for me and one for the baby!" He jumped up and down excitedly. One of the toys fell out of his arms, landing on the floor. "Oops."

Sonic grabbed the toy off the ground. Strange, was that a ticking sound? He brought the present to his ear. Chaos! This thing was a bomb! He threw the present into the air and did the same for the present in Bolt's arms. The first present exploded in the air, blowing up the second gift.

"My toys!" Bolt gasped.

Sonic turned back to the doctor. "What the heck are you playing at Eggface! You nearly killed my son!"

"Eggface?" Bolt turned to Father Christmas and suddenly realised that he was sat on the evil doctor's lap.

"How did you know it was me?!" Eggman stood up from his seat. "Uh, I mean, ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!"

"The jig is up Eggman!" Sonic spin dashed towards his enemy and ripped off the fake beard. The shoppers around them gasped as Eggman was revealed.

Eggman looked around. "Oh don't act so surprised." He pulled out what seemed to be a candy cane. He flicked the tip open, revealing a button in the middle of the cane. He clicked on it, summoning his robots. "Robots. Attack!"

The robots came down from the glass ceiling, shattering the glass. Sonic covered his son as the glass fell from the ceiling. He took his son and hid him in the shopping centre restroom. "Stay here. Don't come out until I tell you." He rushed back to stop Eggman, leaving Bolt in one of the toilet cubicles.

Bolt twiddled his fingers, feeling silly for telling his dad's enemy of the new baby. Once again, he was left to wait behind whilst his dad went to fight Eggman. As usual...

He sighed. Wanting nothing more than to help his dad but he couldn't. His mum would be angry if he were to be involved in any fights.

Just then, he could hear the sound of the restroom door slamming against the wall and the shoppers screaming. He whimpered, covering his mouth to make sure he couldn't be heard. Another sound sent a shiver down his spine and his quills to rise. It was a robot. A robot with claws. He could hear the clanking sounds of claws opening a closing. It slammed it's claws into the toilet door, furthest away from Bolt. The robot slammed each door open, slowly reaching Bolt.

"Bolt!" Sonic called out to his son, realising the door to the restroom had been destroyed.

"Daddy!" Bolt called out in a panic. He gasped as his toilet door was ripped off its hinges. He came face to face with a crab bot.

Just as Sonic was about to attack the crab bot, Bolt spin dashed the robot, leaving it in a pile of scrap metal. Sonic stared in amazement. "Bolt, you--"

"I'm sorry Daddy! Mummy's going to be angry with me now!" The boy wailed.

The blue hero picked up his son and hugged him lovingly. "You destroyed your first robot! I am so proud of you!" He tossed and caught his son. "Just don't tell your mum. She'll turn into mummy-zilla." He winked at the boy, earning a giggle. He placed the kid back on the ground and turned towards the sound of the robots. "Eggman still needs to be stopped."

"I'll help!"

"Oh no you won't. I can't allow you to get hurt."

"I can do it! I just took that robot head on!"

"There's a lot of robots out there!"

"Daddy. I can help you! We dont have time."

He couldn't argue with him there. Man, if Eggman wasn't gonna kill him, Amy was definitely going to. "Alright. Let's move."

The duo rushed out of the restroom and attacked the robots. Smashing all the bots in sight. Sonic watched as his son destroyed Eggman's creations. It was like looking at himself. A possibly too young version of himself but eh, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Eggman watched in horror as his bots were destroyed. Rather than one by one, they were being destroyed two by two. "No! My robots! Do you have any idea how much they cost to make?!" He examined the smaller spinning ball. Realising it was the little boy rodent. "Nice parenting Sonic. You really ought to take some lessons in child safety!"

"Says you, Egghead! You tried to blow him up!" Sonic smashed the final robot. Bolt landed in his dad's arms and cheered on their victory. "Looks like you got two blue hedgehog's on the scene now."

Eggman growled, grabbing Orbot and Cubot, he jumped into the Eggmobile that hid behind the grotto and flew out of the broken ceiling. "You haven't seen the last of me hedgehogs!"

Sonic turned to his son and smiled. "Nicely done, little man."

Bolt hugged his dad. "Does this mean I can come with you and everyone else to fight Eggman?"

"Uh, not quite. You know what your mother's like. She'd freak... Which reminds me. This stays between me and you. Promise me?"

Bolt frowned. He wanted to fight alongside his dad. He had proven how tough he was despite his age. Why couldn't he just help? On the other hand, he didn't want his mum getting upset with his dad. In order to avoid his mother's temper, he nodded. "Promise."

Sonic gave his son another hug. "That's my boy." He turned towards the destruction of the shopping centre. He wanted to give Bolt a better experience than what he had witnessed today. Having an idea, Sonic turned to Bolt and grinned. "Bolt. How about we head over to the Polaris and meet the _real _Father Christmas? Then we can get that gift for the new baby too?"

Bolt had a huge smile on his face. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Just don't tell mummy that daddy ran all the way to the other side of the world."

"Promise!"

* * *

**Merry Christmas everyone :) **


End file.
